This bungalow backyard needed love! Bungalow lots are tend to be narrow, but deep which makes make organizing the space challenging. The building at the back of the property (which housed a trampoline at one time) rendered half the yard useless. Client wish list included a seating area with fire pit, a dining and lounge area, space to grow vegetables, wine grapes,and container fruit trees to add lots of color! She also wanted to incorporate roses and Dianthus that had sentimental value; the yellow, deep pink and reds of their flowers became the basis of the plant color palette. She alsoHer other request was to re-purpose and add vibrant color to her antiquing finds for use in the yard, which added a nice touch of whimsy to what she dubbed her “Mexico meets Provence Girl Cave.” Once the trampoline house was removed, possibilities opened up. The yard was already at two levels, which lent itself to being divided into two rooms, which gives the feeling of more space in a small yard. A custom arbor was built to further separate the outdoor rooms, planted with wisteria, and an antique chandelier hung from its center. Re-purposed cement from the trampoline house was used to build a low dry stack retaining wall in the fire pit seating area. Large whisky barrel containers were planted with dwarf citrus trees and arranged in the unused driveway. Wine grapes were trained on a trellis system that ran alongside the driveway. A raised bed for vegetables edges the upper level fire pit room. Plants have low water requirements and attracts various pollinators to the garden as well. Finally, in the Hollywood way, after a location scout knocked on my client’s door and asked if there was a garden in the back, this garden happened to make its debut on “NCIS: Los Angeles!”
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photography Martha Benedict
